I wish I could hold
that baby behind me
in the grocery store checkout.

I wish I could keep
the poem you typed up
on your typewriter for me
that you lost on our first
meeting.

I wish you could grasp
the soft embers
that glow beneath my cold cheeks
whenever you say
"ace".

Sometimes
if the modd discovers my cowering,
I wish you could hold me

and whisper.